by USA TODAY, USA TODAY

by USA TODAY, USA TODAY

ABC has picked up freshman drama Nashville for a full season, the network announced Monday.

The country-music soap starring Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere as dueling divas is ABC's third full-season renewal - nine more episodes totaling 22 to carry it into spring - along with comedy The Neighbors and returning drama Scandal. Nashville averages about 9 million viewers, and wins its Wednesday 10 p.m. time period in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49 age group.

The network has several other shows whose full-season fate remains undetermined, including dramas 666 Park Avenue and Last Resort and late-premiering comedy Malibu Country.